The recent Irish Fireball Association agm was a lively affair as the class discussed two thorny issues and reconfirmed its commitment to younger sailors.

First, the thorny stuff - there was a lively, sometimes heated discussion around the decision not to award the class a place in the Irish Sailing Champions event (formerly known as the Helmsman's). The ultimate decision was not to award the class, which features several highly competitive sailors, a position based on a notional cutoff of having a 20 boat fleet at the National Championship.

The 2023 Nationals had an 18-boat fleet. A parallel issue was the decision to use a virtual National Judge to save the cost of having a National Judge attend in person.

This was fundamentally to save costs and to keep the entry fee for the event at WHSC affordable. Class chairman Neil Cramer explained that having a National Judge attend an event outside Dublin could add approximately 500 euros to the cost of running the event when judges' expenses are factored in.

Irish Fireball Association Chairman Neil Cramer

Unfortunately, the vast majority of National Judges are based in Dublin or Cork, so travel and subsistence expenses are unavoidable for most regional clubs. Inevitably, this cost has to be passed on to competitors in the form of increased entry fees. From the perspective of the Irish Fireball Association, this is actually anti-sailing and anti-smaller clubs. A clear solution would be financial support from Irish Sailing for National Judges when smaller venues are hosting a national championship. At the AGM, the class reiterated its commitment to youth sailing and agreed to continue its strong subsidy for youth membership and youth entry fees for events.

"increased entry fees are anti-sailing and anti-smaller clubs"

The future of Fireball sailing lies with young sailors and the class will continue to invest in that future. One younger sailor at the agm argued that the class should be better at marketing itself. Chris Bateman, who is a youth development officer on the committee, said that every young sailor he introduces to the boat is amazed at its performance. As a lightweight boat (66.4kg hull) the Fireball has an impressive power to weight ratio and in terms of youth sailing it is actually lighter than a 29er. Chris pointed out that the key selling points should be that the boat is fast, fun and affordable. To prove all of these points, he is running introduction and coaching sessions at Monkstown Bay SC over the winter and into the spring. He has embarked on a mission to rescue and upgrade abandoned Fireballs around the country, building the Cork fleet from almost zero to some dozen boats.

Chris Bateman is a Cork Harbour based Fireball, skiff, catamaran and Laser sailor

The saving grace of an abandoned or neglected Fireball is the hull build quality as boats made by Winder, Duvosin and Weathermark will have a competitive lifespan of well over twenty years. Some of these boats can be picked up for a song, and with re-roping and a bit of cleaning up, they can go head to head with newer boats on any startline. The gold/silver fleet division was also debated at the agm and a draft document was agreed in principle, to be voted on and signed off after a wider poll of sailors.

The guiding principle is to ensure each division is competitive and fair while promoting the top silver sailors into the gold fleet at the end of each season. Events so far nailed down for 2024 include a Nationals at RCYC in tandem with 420s and 29ers, a Leinsters at Skerries, and a Munsters at Monkstown Bay SC. But Fireball sailing doesn't stop for winter, and competitive winter racing is ongoing in the DMYC Frostbites series and at Monkstown. 2024 promises to be another great year for the fleet, with young sailors pushing to the fore and great events at home and abroad.

Speaking of the latter, at least two Irish teams will be competing in the World Championship at Geelong in Australia in February, and there is already big interest in the European Championship on Lake Maggiore in Italy in September.

On November 11th Saturday last, the Fireball resurgence continued in Cork as a Frostbite league raced on the waters of Monkstown Bay.

With the class continuing to blossom in Cork, Six competing Fireballs arrived for the second day of a four-week series.

Fireballs racing at Monkstown Bay in Cork Harbour Photo: Bob Bateman

Light winds were the order of business for the early hours of Saturday morning. Greeted by a glorious sunrise and brisk November air, the competitors, organisers and spectators arrived in droves. As is always the case with this spectacular class, enthusiasm levels were high.

Niall McAllister and crew Killian of Bantry Bay take first place in race three of day one of the Fireball Frostbites Photo: Bob Bateman

Fireballs of all different colours brightened up the dinghy park as their keen owners tuned rigs and prepared sails for the morning's racing.

Ethel and Olin Bateman currently second overall at the MBSC Fireball Frostbites Photo: Bob Bateman

With a starting gun scheduled for 10:30am they lost no time in launching. In keeping with the vibrant theme, a brightly painted Currach became the Cork class committee boat. This was set in place and manned for the day by Robbie O’Sullivan.

Conor Kelly and son Conor fighting for second place on Day one in the Fireball dinghy frostbites racing at Monkstown Bay

A light North Easterly Breeze filled in which was just enough to get race one underway.

It was a fantastic sight to see the Fireballs battling it out on the start line, and at the gun, all got away cleanly. Although new to the fleet, Ewan Barry and crew Sandy Rimmington of MBSC quickly established dominance, leading at the first mark. Adrian Lee of Youghal and crew/league organiser Chris Bateman tacked out into the tide, scraping around in second just in front of the dark horse team of Conor Kelly, racing with his son Conor (junior) on the wire.

Ewan Barry and Sandy Rimmington lead mark 1  in the Fireball dinghy frostbites racing at Monkstown Bay Photo: Bob Bateman

A strong tide and relatively short course kept the race short and exciting, with many position changes. In the end the race was won by Ewan and Sandy, followed up by Lee and Bateman in second with the Kelly’s taking third.

Race two brought less wind and more tide. The competitors gave no leeway and the fleet remained tight with many position changes. At the first mark, it was Ewan and Sandy around in first place. They ran downwind into a hole of no breeze while the fleet carried down fair wind. They managed to hold on to their lead, and crossed the line two rounds later to take first place. Lee and Bateman followed in second, with the ever-consistent Kelly team in third.

Race three kicked off in a more consistent breeze, and it was the new Fireball team of Brian Jones and Barry O’Connor who rounded the windward mark in first place. They held this until close to the leeward mark, where a strong wind shift favoured Lee and Bateman. A small battle ensued after this major wind shift, allowing Lee and Bateman to take the lead, with Ewan Barry and Sandy Rimmington in second followed by Jones and O’Connor in third.

Race four brought medium winds, allowing the crews to stretch their legs on the trapeze. The Fireballs accelerated into their natural habitat of upwind planing which made for an exciting final race. Ewan and Sandy quickly regained the lead and held it all the way to the finish line, completing their impressive first day in a Fireball. Taking second were Lee and Bateman, followed by the Kelly’s (also new to Fireballs). The fleet chomped at their heels, making their statement before calling it a day.

Rather than go straight home, punctual racing allowed the sailors to go for a sail around the bay in the increasing breeze. Fireballs tore across the water, putting on a show before heading for home.
This will all continue next week for day three of the Fireball series.

With more boats scheduled to arrive, why not join us? The Fireball is one of the fastest, cheapest and stable boats on the market currently, not to mention one of the most accommodating, enthusiastic classes in Europe.

The numbers in Cork alone have risen from 1 last year to 11 boats based in all of Cork right now (9 in Monkstown Bay alone).

If interested in being a part of the Fireball fleet, trying a boat, selling or buying, call Chris on +353 85 7272382.

If you don’t have access to a phone and want to join the Cork Fireball fleet, racing is every Saturday morning, so come down and have a look!

Such has been the upswing in enthusiasm for Fireball sailing that despite completing the full suite of scheduled events for 2023, there was a significant view that a further event would be well received. Fortunately, Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club (DMYC) took up the short-notice challenge and organised a race team to host the Fireballs on the weekend of 21st & 22nd October.

The forecast in the week beforehand gave a mixed recipe of winds for both the Saturday and the Sunday and while storm Babet hammered the south coast, the sea conditions in Dun Laoghaire on the Thursday and Friday were such that a matchbox wouldn’t have survived never mind a sailing boat. I saw photographs of huge seas crashing off the pier walls that were closer to what one might expect in deep December rather than mid-October.

Sunday morning Fireball action – Team Butler, Ferguson/Chaix, Butler/Oram and Lee/Geraghty Photo: Neil Colin 

Saturday dawned better looking than expected, with the huge seas gone and a steady breeze from the NNW. At the briefing on Saturday morning, a plan was declared to run three races on the premise that there was a better forecast for the Sunday.

Fleet participants came from Cork – Team Bateman, with three boats – the West with Adrian Lee and Ossian Geraghty, from Leitrim, north of the Liffey, from Skerries, from Wexford, and of course from Dun Laoghaire itself.

Olin Bateman & Conor Kelly sailing Fireball 14362 Photo: Cormac Bradley

Three three-lap Olympic-course races were completed on the Saturday in winds that varied in strength from 12 to 18 knots in reasonably flat seas west of the harbour. With a Fireball crew as Race Officer and a Fireball helm setting the windward and leeward marks, the fleet had exhilarating spinnaker reaches on the triangles with some tweaking of the gybe mark after a practice triangle, and good planing conditions on the downwind legs of the sausage.

Top reach Fireball action, Race 3, en route to the gybe mark – Left to right: Team Butler 14969, McGrotty & Cramer 14938, Thompson brothers, Daniel & Harry 15156, Butler & Oram 15061, Bateman & Flynn 14916 Photo: Neil Colin

Ten of the fourteen boats entered made the first race which got away after a very short postponement. Perennial trophy winners Stephen Oram and Noel Butler (15061) took the first two races with comfortable wins after a tighter first triangle. In the first race they were chased by Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty (15017) before spinnaker issues forced them backwards in the pecking order. That opened the door to Team Butler, Ed Óg agus Ed Mór (14969) who came through to finish 2nd, with Niall McGrotty & Neil Cramer (14938) 3rd.

In the second race, thirteen of the fourteen boats entered made the start and while we had an OCS, who didn’t go back, a DNS and one RET, the balance of the fleet enjoyed sunny conditions and good breeze. This second race was a tighter affair, but by the end the cream had risen to the top and Oram & Butler took a second bullet. Having sorted out their technical issues, Lee & Geraghty finished second, with the Butlers third, McGrotty & Cramer fourth and Nicola Ferguson & Thomas Chaix (14750) fifth.

These two races ran for approximately 35 minutes each, which was marginally shorter than had been promised/agreed with the fleet and so the weather mark was moved further upwind to lengthen the beat. For the third race, two boats that may have got their time planning for the first two races wrong upturned the pecking order and came home in first and second, relegating the leaders on the water to third place. Brothers Daniel & Harry Thompson (15156) out of Wexford took the bullet in this race and were followed home by Chris Bateman & Conor Flynn (14916) flying the Cork flag.

In the wind conditions of Saturday, the distance between 1st and last boats on the water got stretched and “Whiskey” finishes were used to get the subsequent race started. Again, this had been agreed with the fleet in view of the initial weather conditions, grey, overcast and temperatures probably in single figures. A turnaround time of 15 minutes was achieved after one race between first boat finishing and the warning signal for the subsequent race.

The warning signal for Race 1 was delayed by about three minutes while the race committee checked on tailenders coming out of the harbour, but not seeing any, the postponement flag came down quickly and proceedings got underway. Th weather mark was tweaked for each race and time was saved between races with the RO changing the weather mark while the balance of the committee boat crew finished the race. This meant that while we started three minutes late on the first start, three races were done and dusted by 14:00 and the fleet was ashore by 14:45.

With three races complete, the running order in overall terms was Oram & Butler, 5pts, Butler & Butler, 9pts, McGrotty & Cramer, 12pts, Lee & Geraghty, 14pts and Ferguson & Chaix, 15pts.

As the fleet relaxed in the DMYC clubhouse, the predictions of wind for Sunday started to go skewwhiff with light winds from the West giving way to light winds from the East according to XCWeather. An early evening WhatsApp from Neil Colin (weather & gybe mark) suggested that Met Eireann was also not confident of stable winds.

Sunday morning was bright but breathless both inside the harbour and outside. The committee boat cast off early and sat outside the harbour in mirror-like conditions until a dark line spread over the southern half of the Bay coming from an easterly direction. Four Elliott 5.5s, 100m away from the committee boat starting sailing in this and a decision was taken to race inside the harbour to cancel any tidal effects.
While the breeze moved around enough to prompt adjustment of the weather mark between races, it stayed around the 120°mark for the day and a further three races were sailed in accordance with the Sailing Instructions and a fourth race was then offered to take advantage of the sunshine and light breeze.

Windward-Leewards were the order of the day, each of two laps and the recipe produced much tighter racing on the water. The changed conditions also meant that the younger and lighter combinations could be more competitive and in particular Olin Bateman & Conor Kelly (14362) took advantage to mix it with the more experienced combinations. In one race they rounded the first weather mark inside the top five.

However, the overnight leaders made sure that there were no hiccups on Day 2 by taking another two race wins, before Chris Bateman & Conor Flynn closed out the regatta racing by winning the sixth race with Oram & Butler finishing a discarded sixth. Lee & Geraghty had a good day scoring 2, 3, 4 to leapfrog Team Butler (14) and McGrotty & Cramer (12) into second place overall.

For the freebie seventh race, more than half the fleet took advantage of the now benign conditions to get some more racing in!

Fireball Autumn Regatta – Hosted by DMYC, 21/22 October 2023 results

A compact team ran the racing over the two days with four on the committee boat and two ribs laying marks. Accordingly, thanks go to Neil, Keelan and his daughter, Brian, Margaret, Louise, Cariosa and Cormac.
Prizes were awarded by Regatta Organiser Neil Colin in the DMYC post racing.

DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta 2023 Prizegiving Gallery

Stephen Oram & Noel Butler, 1st Overall at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty, 2nd Overall at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

152354 – Ed Butler (Snr) and Ed Butler (Jnr), 3rd Overall, with Regatta Organiser Neil Colin at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

Nicola Ferguson & Thomas Chaix, 4th Overall at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

Paul ter Horst & Pat McGoldrick, Winners Silver Fleet at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

Killian Glynn & Niall McAllister, 2nd in Silver Fleet at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

Olin Bateman & Conor Kelly, 3rd in Silver Fleet at the DMYC Fireball Autumn Regatta at Dun Laoghaire Harbour Photo: Cormac Bradley

For the second year in a row, East Antrim Boat Club top crewman Andy Thompson hit the sailing headlines by winning a major Fireball dinghy title with ace UK helmsman Tom Gillard. 

In 2022, Gillard and Thompson scooped the world title on the home waters of Lough Derg in County Tipperary, and this September, Thompson lifted the European title in Portroz, Slovenia, even after a black flag earlier in the championships.

The pair scored three bullets during the final day of racing in spectacular conditions and is a worthy winner of the Sailor of the Month title for September for a second year in a row.

Current Fireball World and European Champions, Tom Gillard, and Andy Thompson of Larne in Country Antrim will defend their World title in Geelong, Australia, next year.

"We have several Irish competitors entered, and after a strong showing by the Irish teams at the previous Worlds and at the just completed Europeans, it would be great to see a few more make the trip down under," says organiser Chris Payne.

The 2024 Fireball Worlds will be hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club (RGYC) in Victoria, in February 2024. 

Over 40 Fireballs have registered so far.

Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson of Larne in Northern Ireland have won the Fireball European Championship at Portroz, Slovenia.

The pair scored three bullets during the final day of racing in spectacular conditions with winds typically around 18 knots but gusting over twenty knots at times.

Vince Horey & Dave Wade finished 2nd while event leaders Claude Mermod & Ruedi Moser finished 3rd. Racing started early and by 2 pm the race officer had two races in the bag.

Despite the relatively fresh conditions, there were still plenty of shifts and variations in pressure around the course.

Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson of Larne on the wire in winning form at the Fireball European Championship in Slovenia. See day five photo gallery below Photo: Urs Hardi

The Czech team of Martin Kubovy & Roman Rocek finished 4th while the UK father & son team Graham and William Cook were 5th.

All starts took place under the U flag, and the starts, mainly pin-end biased, got away cleanly.

Best of the Irish were Josh Porter & Cara McDowell, who finished up 12th overall, still a terrific result in a highly competitive 70-boat fleet.

Next Irish were Adrian Lee & Ossian Geraghty, who finished 24th, and Ed Og Butler & Sean Collins, who were 25th. That pair led the final race for a period and finished 4th in the last race.

Frank Miller & Ed Butler Snr were 41st overall.

Results downloadable below as a pdf file

Fireball Europeans Photo Gallery (Day Five) by Urs Hardi

After five races sailed at the Fireball European Championships in Portroz, Slovenia – and three sailed today – Vince Horey and Dave Wade UK are on equal points with event leaders Claude and Ruedi (Sui).

Tim Gillard and Andy Thompson (UK) are very much back in the frame, with three bullets from today's races lifting them to third overall.

Download the overall results below as a PDF file

As Afloat reported previously, top-ranked Irish duo, Josh Porter and Cara McDowell are in eighth overall after two 10th places from today's races.

Race one was sailed in champagne conditions - warm winds of 18 knots and gusting. Race two started in medium winds but dropped light, especially on the final run. The last race was sailed in light airs with massive and frequent shifts on the first beat and many very super-light patches.

The race officer did exceptionally well and rightly waited for two weather systems to blow through before attempting the third race of the day.

With the forecast for the final day of racing tomorrow, Friday, promising decent breezes all is still to play for, and Tom Gillard & Andy Thompson will be fighting hard to make it to the top of the podium.

Fireball European Championships 2023 (Day Four) Photo Gallery by Urs Hardi

Two Irish boats are lying in the top ten overall in the 70-boat Fireball European Championship at Portroz in Slovenia.

Josh Porter and Cara McDowell are lying 7th overall and Adrian Lee and Ossian Geraghty are in 10th place.

Claude Mermod & Ruedi Moser (Sui) lead the field after racing earlier today when one race was achieved in light and tricky airs. The fleet headed out to the race area in an excellent breeze but it faded steadily and by the start was averaging about eight knots. A decent start was crucial for clear air as was the ability to keep boats moving through flat patches.

There is an unpredictable weather forecast for the rest of the week at the Fireball European Championships in Slovenia Photo: Frank Miller

There were quite big shifts and changes in angles both upwind and offwind and differences in pressure around the course.

Lying second overall are Aussies Heather Macfarlane and Chris Payne just two points behind the Swiss team.

Third overall are Alois Verkest & Bernard Biscay of France. Vince Horey and Dave Wade are 4th on 11 points.

A general meeting in the hangar at Jk Pirat SC to discuss ideas to develop and grow the Fireball class worldwide

The team who would have initially been considered event favourites Tom Gillard & Andy Thompson were 13th in today's race and their black flag from the first race hangs over them with a 36th place total. A discard kicks in after five races, but the forecast for the rest of the week is unpredictable - marginally better than breezes to date but by no means assured.

So far only two races have been achieved in the series after three days. There have been compensations however with hot sunshine, great hospitality and a warm friendly atmosphere at Sailing Club JK Pirat.

The Irish team enjoy the Fireball Europeans crew dinner in Slovenia

The traditional crews dinner took place last night.

This was a very high-class event generously hosted by Fireball Slovenia. Today Wednesday is the lay day and there wasn't enough optimism about the forecast to abandon that in favour of racing. So it's all to play for on Thursday and Friday when the race officer will likely attempt 3 races per day, conditions permitting.

Meanwhile, team Ireland is delighted to have two boats in the top ten of a very competitive European fleet.

As boats rigged for the first day of the joint Fireball and 420 National Championships at WHSC Dunmore East a weather system was approaching faster than most forecasts predicted.

At a briefing with race officer Michael Conway the Fireball and 420 classes learned of the rapidly accelerating conditions offshore, and all agreed that the best opportunity was to attempt one, or maximum two, windward-leeward races while conditions allowed. Outside the immediate harbour, sailors were greeted with winds averaging about sixteen knots but with well-disturbed seas. After a short postponement racing got underway. It was the very lumpy waves which provided most of the challenges. Upwind it was a case of keeping the boats driving through the waves, downwind it was a case of not sending the bow under the waves.

Big waves at at Dunmore East for the 2023 Irish Fireball National Championships Photo: Andre Fassberger

For the first beat the boats which went left towards the estuary which came out ahead. Straight out of the blocks it was clear that one of the main contests would be between Ed Óg Butler, sailing with Sean Collins, and Noel Butler, sailing with regular crew Stephen Oram. Around the course, the two sailed in close company, with Butler Óg edging ahead from fairly early on. Others near the front end included the Thompson brothers Daniel and Harry, Josh Porter and Cara McDowell, Ethel Bateman with her brother Chris crewing, Frank Miller with Ed Butler Snr, and Niall McGrotty with Neil Cramer.

Storm Betty had an impact at the 2023 Irish Fireball National Championships at Dunmore East Photo: Andre Fassberger

On days like these there is a big premium on the set-up and bear-away around the windward mark and spreader. Thus, the top teams increased their leads through smooth turns and very fast hoists. There were noisy inter-crew communications downwind to prevent boats going down under big waves. Another consideration was the angle downwind and the timing of the gybe over to the leeward gate, with gusts and big waves foremost on the mind. Ultimately Ed Óg Butler & Sean Collins took the win with a good lead. Noel Butler & Stephen Oram took a short break after round two when they thought they had finished but resumed when they realised it was a three-round race. They recovered to third with the Thompsons taking second place. Fifteen-year-old Ethel Bateman, with brother Chris on the wire, took fourth position - a fantastic achievement in those conditions in the relatively older class loan boat.

Lumpy waves provided most of the challenges at the at the 2023 Irish Fireball National Championships at Dunmore East Photo: Andre Fassberger

As boats went through the finish line winds were increasing and they were signalled to return ashore. After derigging and showering the word was that the increasing wind now had a name - Storm Betty. An advisory went out on the event app for boats to lower masts for what was expected to be a very stormy evening. Most Fireballers took other precautions dragging boats into the lee of tall sheds, tying them down to shores and bollards and in at least one case removing trolley wheels to lower the profile for the approaching winds. Despite all the precautions during the night there were indeed full storm conditions and two Fireball capsizes on the quayside. Only a few yards away two trawlers sank in the harbour. Overnight the race team signalled a postponement for Saturday racing to assess conditions and to nobody's surprise by 10.30am Saturday a decision was made to cancel sailboat racing for the day. But racing wasn't over for everyone and a group of sailors headed off to go go-cart racing instead while others body-surfed at Ladies Cove nearby. Saturday evening saw a great social gathering at the club barbeque organised by a dedicated team of WHSC club volunteers.

Daniel and Harry Thompson of Wexford Harbour Tennis and Boat Club competing in the 2023 Irish Fireball National Championships at Dunmore East Photo: Andre Fassberger

Sunday saw conditions not entirely dissimilar to Friday which led to a side conference by race officials and the rescue team. While the fleets rigged in anticipation the race officer went afloat to check out the wind and sea state. In time the thumb went up and sailors collected their tallies and launched. While winds may have been a tad stronger and the waves were still dramatic the wave pattern was slightly more benign over most of the course with longer rolling fetches. It was those waves which provided most of the drama during the three Olympic Course races which ensued. The wind was in the order of sixteen knots gusting into the low and mid-twenties and while the wave pattern was generally smoother there were much bigger unpredictable waves on the left side of the course, especially around the gybe mark area. In all three starts there was a modest pin bias leading some of the main contenders to fight for that end of the line. The Thompson brothers went one further and tried a port start but the door closed at least once leading to a dipping in one race and an OCS in another. In race two of the event Ed Óg Butler & Sean Collins continued as they started and took the gun but Noel Butler & Stephen Oram appeared more settled and were a close second. The latter pair went on to win the next two races, with Butler Óg capsizing in one race and suffering a ripped mainsail clew in another, the latter misfortune unusual in a relatively new mainsail. The Thompsons also had their misfortunes with a capsize in one race and a retirement in the last race with a broken spreader, most likely a result of damage inflicted during a capsize on the hard during Storm Betty. Josh Porter & Cara McDowell were sailing extremely consistently despite being one of the lighter combinations but their plans came unstuck along with their deck strut fitting. Niall McGrotty & Neil Cramer were sailing steadily and remained upright to have a third place almost in the bag but were knocked out by a gust on the approach to the finish. Frank Miller & Ed Butler were looking good in the conditions and at one point leading a race but a capsize on the gybe took them out. So, to some extent these Nationals amounted to a war of attrition in the face of really exciting but challenging conditions. Inevitably however the cream rose to the top and Butler & Oram took the win through consistency with Butler Óg & Sean Collins second. Arguably though team Butler/Oram weren’t the real stars of the day. The performance of Ethel Bateman with her brother Chris crewing was astonishing. The pair revelled in the conditions and their results – 4, (6), 4, 2 - catapulted the fifteen-year-old helm and brother Chris out of the silver fleet and into third place overall.

Ed Og Butler - second with Sean Collins (not in pic) at the Irish  Fireball Nationals at Dunmore East 

Ethel Bateman (helm) with brother Chris third overall at the Irish  Fireball Nationals

In the silver fleet, new entrants Niall MacAllister and son Oisin took third place during their first competitive outing in their newly acquired boat. Second silver went to Jack McNaughton & Damian Dion, while David Evans & Mike Murphy took the top silver trophy. So, despite the rude interruptions of Storm Betty, this was an extremely successful Nationals. Eighteen Fireballs, many crewed by young teams, and a similar number of 420s joining forces to race in warm weather, big breezes, and huge seas - the kind of outstanding conditions that Dunmore East can provide. The next major Fireball event is the Europeans in Slovenia in mid-September, with four Irish boats planning to make the trek. While theoretically the Fireball summer calendar is now complete the class are looking for a suitable venue for one last hurrah, possibly in October, before frostbite season kicks in.

David Evans Fireball Nationals silver fleet winner with Barry McConnell, commodore of WHSC Dunmore East

Second in the Silver fleet, Jack McNaughten with crew Damian Dion at the Irish Fireball Nationals

On a weekend when all DBSC races were cancelled due to lack of wind and Fastnet Race yachts were pummelled by gales and strong winds, Killaloe Sailing Club managed to run an extremely successful Fireball Munsters in tandem with the 420 class. Despite a few regulars missing from both fleets, the turnouts were excellent, with fifteen Fireballs and fourteen 420s lining up for the competition over Saturday and Sunday. The newly refurbished KSC hosted not just the sailors and boats but a plethora of tents and camper vans, adding hugely to the sociability of the weekend.

The forecast for the entire weekend was a concern, with light winds and heavy rain on the agenda. Saturday started with a decent if modest breeze and drizzle, but by the time the fleets mustered for the start, the AP was flying, and the light wind was swinging 180 degrees. After about an hour, however, the wind settled into a Southerly direction of around five to eight knots. Fireballs got off the line cleanly for an Olympic Triangle course with only one recall which saw the Wexford brothers Daniel and Harry Thompson return to restart. Although the pin was favoured, there was a slightly better breeze on the starboard side of the course, and those boats got a slight head-start on the fleet.

Waiting for the wind to fill at Fireball Munsters joint event with 420s at Killaloe Sailing Club on Lough Derg

Boats to the fore in judging the shifts and patches of better wind included Ed Óg Butler & Maeve Leonard, Louise McKenna & Hermine O'Keeffe, Chris Bateman & Cara McDowell and Tiarnan Brown & Peter Hayes. Between the jigs, reels and shifts McKenna and O'Keeffe managed to get in front of Butler & Leonard, only for the latter to benefit from a patch of breeze and sneak ahead to take the gun near the finish. Race officer Liam Moloney wisely shortened the course after two laps and the racers who followed the leaders home had an agonising final few yards to cover to the line. Several finished just seconds apart with boats on the left side of the approach benefiting from slightly more pressure. One of those on the left were the Thompsons, who clawed their way back to a 5th place.

Following that race the wind reverted to its swirling game and the two fleets floated around waiting for a breeze to settle. There were quite funny scenes which included boat gymnastics, raft games, and swimming competitions amongst the younger competitors in both fleets, all it in the fairly miserable drizzle. Eventually, it was clear that no decent breeze was coming and the race team called it a day. Socially the day was still young and an excellent sit-down meal was served up by club volunteers giving everyone a chance to mix and catch up.

Sunday dawned again with a decent enough breeze but when the competitors got to the starting area that had vaporised. What little wind existed was from the south, while the forecast was for breeze to fill from the North. After about an hour the weather decided to play ball and a very decent northerly wind of between twelve and seventeen knots kicked in. With the pressure on to get races completed the race team wisely decided on Windward-Leeward courses, giving them the flexibility to move marks quickly if conditions changed. Three excellent races ensued.

Chris & Cara dominated the first two races, chased mainly by Frank Miller & Ed Butler Snr, the Thompsons, and Tiernan & Peter. Frank & Ed Snr got a second in race two, but a fouled spinnaker drop in race three cost them a place as the Thompson brothers nipped in at the final leeward to take that second place. The Thompsons proved that they were back in action and on form in the final race of the day as they judged the shifts and pressure right to take that race from Chris and Cara. Ed Óg & Maeve had a lost spinnaker halyard issue just before the first race of day two which when combined with a riveted fitting knocked them out for the day. This was especially unfortunate as they would surely have given Chris & Cara a good run for the overall.

When the sums were done Chris & Cara won the event on four points to the Thompsons' seven. Despite an entertaining capsize on the finish line in the final race Frank & Ed Snr managed to get 3rd overall on nine points. First silver fleet sailors were Tiarnan & Peter from Glandore. Deserving winners of the classic trophy were young Olin Bateman and Saoirse O’Connor Buckley in the class loan boat.

Fireball classic trophy winners at Killaloe were Saoirse O'Connor Buckley and Olin Bateman

Second in the silver fleet were James Anglim & Hugo Micka, 3rd Silver were Jack McNaughten & Michael Keegan. Many others deserve special mention – Jim Ryan, event organiser, sailing for the first time with Aoise Carroll, put in a very solid performance. Jakub Ozarek & Lara Killen made the very long trek from East Down and came 9th despite having very little competitive Fireball experience under their belts. Two father-son combinations gave it their all, Colm & Cormac Breen and Paul & Morris Ter Horst. And an exemplary match of youth and experience was the team of Jack McNaughten and veteran Michael Keegan.

Commodore of Killaloe SC John Callanan with Peter Hayes and Tiarnan Brown, Glandore SC, silver fleet winners

Arguably however, the biggest winner of the event was Killaloe SC itself. The club put on a fantastic event in trying conditions, with great food, camping and hospitality driven by a small army of volunteers. As commodore John Callanan said at the presentation the family-centred club can only manage one or two events like this a year but combining the 420s and the Fireballs absolutely worked perfectly for everyone. In her short speech at the presentation, Cara pointed to the fact that the latest generation of Fireballers mostly came from a 420 background. Having coached many of them, she looked forward to seeing more 420 sailors making the transition as they get older.

Next up for Fireballs and 420s is their joint National Championships at Waterford Harbour Sailing Club on the 18th, 19th & 20th of August. Both fleets are looking forward to another great combined event in that often exciting location.